Polar Planes [Luffy x Nami]

11. Bitter Smog

The air was hissing with falling rain, forgiving and cool as it met Nami's skin. The Wednesday morning was cloudy but had the mildly warm undertones of spring that the sharp winter couldn't match.

For the first time in a while, Nami felt relaxed. Her headache had finally subsided, and she was still ahead of her work. She could even begin a scholarship application right now for Mary Geoise High if she wanted to.

And with that thought, her heart sank again.

She wouldn't be the one to claim that Grand Line was a top-tier high school with brand-new facilities, clean bathrooms, or unlimited resources, but her friends have made it somewhere she'd be rather than home. Maybe she hated the fact that the toilets were clogged every other time she decided to relieve herself, or that the rusty locker doors fell off if you opened them too hard, but she was still going to miss every part of it.

Mary Geoise High was going to provide her with everything she needed: high-quality teachers, test prep, computer labs, robotics labs, and most importantly - an advantage in college admissions. It wasn't a prep school - it was the prep school. It didn't matter if Nami didn't feel like she belonged; sacrifices needed to be made to succeed.

She stepped into Mr. Newgate's classroom with a purposeful stride, not matching the lackadaisical energy emanating about the room that had always been a result of early mornings.

"Good morning, everyone," Mr. Newgate said, then thought better of it. "Actually, that probably won't be the case in a few minutes."

Everyone glanced at each other, their eyes burning with horrific anticipation.

He brought out a stack of papers and rested his hands on them. "I have graded your tests from last week."

A chorus of groans reverberated throughout the class.

He sighed. "Look, I know I made this one more challenging than the others, but this is an AP class. You guys shouldn't expect any less."

"Mr. Newgate, that last question was insane!" someone protested from the back. "Are you going to curve?"

"Of course, I will. But if you got less than a 60, you're going to need to talk to me later today."

Usopp stared out the window as if he were mourning a dead friend. "My time has come."

Vivi raised an eyebrow. "Usopp; you're being dramatic."

"That's kind of his thing," Sabo remarked.

Mr. Newgate walked down the line of desks, distributing the tests face-down to each student. That was never a good sign.

Nami felt particularly confident about that test, but she couldn't rule out the possibility that she might have made a mistake somewhere. The nail of her thumb had unconsciously made its way to her teeth before she was even aware of it. Perhaps she had jinxed herself by enjoying the day too much before she walked in.

He finally approached Nami and nodded as he handed her the test. When she flipped it over, a red "95" was written on the top corner. Her eyes scanned the first page, and she realized that she had made a silly mistake on the first question.

"Are you serious?" she muttered to herself.

Vivi examined her own score. "Hm. An 85 was better than what I thought."

Sabo turned around to face Nami. "You look like you just failed this test, which I know you didn't."

"How presumptive of you," she said, not able to deny his statement. "How did you do?"